Arkansas' Spring River was first stocked
with trout around the turn of the century.
Today, a modern hatchery operation is
maintained by the Arkansas Game and Fish
Commission on an island just below Dam #3
and is accessed via State Highway 342.
Rainbows, Browns, Cutthroat, and Brook trout
are stocked regularly. The Kroger food company
donated the hatchery to AGFC in 1985. USFWS
also operates a hatchery in the town of Mammoth
Spring, near the source of the Spring River.
Mammoth Spring discharges 9 million gallons of
58-62 degree water every hour into the river,
creating ideal habitat for a variety of fish
species in addition to trout. The first 10 miles
of the Spring River is considered trout water, but
the first 2.5 miles from Mammoth Spring to Dam #3
consists of ideal fly fishing water and higher trout
densities than does the downstream portion.

I first fished the Spring River for trout and
Smallmouth Bass as a boy in the 1970s on family
vacations to Cherokee Village, a resort on the
banks of the Spring River some 16 miles downstream
from Mammoth Spring. So it was a very fitting
location for a reunion this past week with my
oldest brother, home on leave from the war-torn
Persian Gulf. The Spring River doesn't hold the
most fish, the prettiest fish, or even the biggest
fish in the Ozarks. But it is the largest
spring-fed river that offers trout fishing in
Arkansas. And it holds a special place in the
hearts of my brother and me. We were both looking
forward to fishing her waters together again for
several weeks prior to our reunion on her shores.

My wife and I arrived Wednesday at lunchtime. We
parked the truck in front of my brother's condo in
the spot next to his newly acquired vintage Shelby
Cobra. The weather in Northeast Arkansas in July
is usually sultry, with temperatures hovering around
100 degrees and plenty of humidity adding insult to
injury. But this day it was a pleasant 84 degrees.
It would remain mild for the duration of our trip,
making our outdoor activities and conversations on
the condo's back deck much more pleasant than usual.
We went inside to greet my brother and his wife.

We spent the first afternoon catching up on each
other's lives and activities of the past 18 months.
We had dinner at a locally famous catfish restaurant.
We returned to the condo to spend a very pleasant
evening out on the deck overlooking Thunderbird
Lake discussing the things families discuss during
reunions..."the kids," work, politics, current events,
and our favorite, new TV commercials. Understandably,
we spent a good amount of time on subjects pertaining
to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan…a subject that has
consumed every waking moment of my eldest brother's
life for the past 12 months. But we also discovered
the magic of lighted ice cubes!

Thursday was dedicated to fishing the Spring River
for trout. We decided to sleep in, and head up
whenever we got up and got around to it. We arrived
at the Lassiter Access on the Spring River about 10
o'clock on Thursday morning. Wading into the Spring
River, I was conscious of a "homecoming" sort of
feeling. The comfort born of familiarity separated
by time and distance flowed over me as the water
tumbled past my legs. Our reunion was complete...
two brothers and a river that has served as a
strategic meeting place for over three decades. I
cannot explain it precisely - or even in a way that
probably makes much sense. But there is a mystical
...perhaps metaphysical…healing triangle between the
three of us: my brother, the river, and me.

We caught some trout, of course. But that always
seems to be a relatively insignificant peripheral
to our outings on the Spring River. We watched as
a grandfather introduced his grandchildren to the
joys of catching trout on a Snoopy Pole. I couldn't
help but hope this grandfather and his grandchildren
might also experience a similar bond...held together
by the cool waters of the river and the trout that
lie below her surface.

Our visit was too short. The pressures of professional
life for my wife and me, and the weighty responsibilities
of waging war for my brother curtailed our visit...
condensing it to its basic elements. Friday morning
we said our good-byes and pointed the truck back
towards Branson. It will be yet another year before
the chance to fish the Spring River with my oldest
brother presents itself again. Anything can happen
in such a long span of time. But for this brief
moment, we had our reunion at the river. The
mystical triangle was completed once again. And
somehow we both knew we were better men for the
experience. I wonder if the river knows... ~ Ken

About Ken:

Ken graduated from Southern Methodist University
in 1988, and spent the next several years serving
in the United States Navy as an intelligence analyst
and Russian Language translator. He is a veteran
of Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Leaving the
nation's service in 1993.

Ken is also a published outdoor writer and historian,
having penned articles and stories that have appeared
in several national hunting publications like North
American Hunter magazine, on GunMuse.com, in regional
and local newspapers, and historical and literary
journals. He also provides hunting and dog training
seminars for Bass Pro Shops and other sporting goods
retailers nationwide and works with other outdoors
businesses and conservation organizations in the
fields of public relations, promotional marketing,
fund-raising, and advertising. He also is a partner
in Silver Mallard Properties, LLC. He currently
resides with his wife, Wilma, their Weimaraner,
Smoky Joe, and their Labrador Retriever, Jake, in
Branson, Missouri, where he founded the
Branson/Tri-Lakes Chapter of Ducks Unlimited in 1998.